ALOR SETAR: Two brothers went missing and are feared to have drowned, after their boat was hit by a storm in the waters of Kuala Sala, near here, early this morning.
Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone director, Maritime Commander Noor Azreyanti Ishak, said that the missing brothers were Mohd Farizan Tajuddin, 41, and Mohd Faudzi, 48, from Kuala Sala.
“The Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone operations centre received a call regarding the incident from Kota Sarang Semut police station after one of the victim’s family members informed the police about the matter.
“Before the incident, the brothers had gone out to sea to fish for shrimp with another of their relatives, using two separate boats,” she said in a statement here today.
She said following the storm the boat boarded by the two victims was found floating in the sea by a local fishing boat, while their relative was safe when the boat he was on was stranded on a nearby beach.
Noor Azreyanti said the Langkawi Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) activated search and rescue operations at 1.30 this afternoon and mobilised the PERKASA 1224 boat to locate the missing victims.
“Efforts to locate the victims are ongoing, with the help of the Marine Police Force (PPM), the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), as well as several local fishing boats.
“The Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone also asks the fishing community to report any clues at sea through the 24-hour emergency line MERS999 or the Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 04-731 0579,” he said. – Bernama
